Office for Women & Domestic and Sexual Violence Services

Help for you, your family, your neighbors, your community.

The Office for Women & Domestic and Sexual Violence Services
offers compassionate and comprehensive state-accredited programs for
women, men, teens and children who have been affected by domestic and
sexual violence and stalking. The goal of OFWDSVS is to promote safety,
responsibility, awareness and equality.

Philosophy, Vision, Mission and Values

Philosophy Everyone has a right to live free of violence.

Vision
We envision a day when all forms of interpersonal violence and
oppression are not tolerated and when individuals and families, no matter
their situation, have access to and are welcomed into a wide variety of
services that allows them to rebuild their lives on their own terms.

Mission
OFWDSVS advances our mission of preventing and ending domestic and
sexual violence, stalking and human trafficking by fostering a community
based on equality and mutual respect through prevention and intervention,
community engagement and awareness, policy and advocacy.

Values

Collaboration We strive to open doors in order to build relationships and
engage the community in providing the highest quality of care and
promoting social change.

Compassion We commit to providing empathetic, client-driven, and
trauma-informed services for our community.

Courage We support our clients and members of our community as they take
difficult and courageous steps towards autonomy, accountability, and
responsibility.

Equality We promote human equality and use resources in ways that serve
the public equitably; we respectfully challenge biases, attitudes,
and behaviors that contribute to inequality.

Innovation We foster an environment that embraces creativity and calculated
risk-taking to advance our mission.

Safety We advocate for safety as a basic human right which underscores
each and every interaction with clients and the community; assuring
confidential, accessible, and affordable services to all.

Accreditations

The Office for Women & Domestic and Sexual Violence Services offers
compassionate and comprehensive state-accredited programs for women, men,
teens and children who have been affected by domestic and sexual
violence, stalking, and human trafficking. The goal of OFWDSVS is to
promote safety, responsibility, awareness and equality.

Our office is fully accredited in the state of Virginia by the following
boards:

Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance, 2013 -
2015:
“The Action Alliance coordinates a peer review accreditation process
of sexual and domestic violence agency standards of service. The
accreditation process and criteria exist to ensure that people
experiencing sexual or domestic violence anywhere in the Commonwealth
will have access to similar quality of response based in a shared
philosophy of valuing individual and community empowerment and
promoting the dignity and respect of all persons.”
-VSDV Action Alliance

Virginia Batterer Intervention Program Certification Board,
July 2014 - June 2015:
“The Virginia Standards for Batterer Intervention Programs are the
result of a collaborative effort between the Coalition for the
Treatment of Abusive Behaviors (C-TAB) and Virginians Against Domestic
Violence (VADV). Together, these two groups built upon the work of the
Virginia Commission on Family Violence Prevention to develop standards
for effective batterer intervention services in order to ensure that
the goals of victim safety, offender accountability, and community
collaboration are the focus of these services.”
-VABIP Board

Who We
Serve

What is domestic or family violence?
In domestic or family violence, one person attempts to control or hurt
another through actions or threats that can include physical, sexual,
verbal, or psychological abuse. People of all ages, income levels,
faiths, sexual orientation, gender, and education levels can experience
domestic or family violence.

What is sexual violence?
Sexual violence is a general term used to explain any act of a sexual
nature where a person is forced, threatened, or intimidated into engaging
in the activity without her or his permission. Some examples of this are
rape, forced sodomy, sexual harassment, and indecent exposure.

This office can provide services to help those individuals and families
who are affected by domestic or sexual violence.

These programs are open to any resident of Fairfax County and the cities
of Fairfax and Falls Church. Service providers are sensitive to the
issues of age, gender, race, disability, religious or ethnic background,
sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression.

How You Can Help

Volunteer with our program:
We encourage community participation in our programs and welcome
volunteers to work in a variety of jobs. Some examples include staffing
our 24-hour hotline, facilitating support and psychoeducational groups,
providing accompaniment for victims at the hospital or in court,
assisting in prevention and educational outreach, providing
administrative support, and many others. All volunteers must pass a
background check. We will provide all the training you need to safely and
competently perform any of these jobs. We would love to welcome you as we
all work together to create a safer community. If you would like more
information, call or email our volunteer coordinator, Larissa Jackson,
703-324-9495. Learn more about volunteer
opportunities with the Office for Women & Domestic and Sexual
Violence Services.

All services are confidential and provided regardless of race, gender,
ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, or sexual
orientation.